

























136 

10 

PRIESTLY IDENTITY AND NEW 

EVANGELIZATION: RESOLVING DEFICITS 

IN PRIESTLY IDENTITY THROUGH 

AUTHENTIC PATROLOGY. 
 

Clement AJIBOLADE 
Seminary of All Saints, Uhiele- Ekpoma 

ajiboladeclement@gmail.com 
 

Abstract 
The catholic priesthood has got a character with which the priests are 
easily marked out, even since antiquity. No matter the historical 
development of the priesthood, this character remains substantially 
intact. The consciousness of the character is also a source of great 
impetus for enthusiastic evangelization. However, one of the major 
challenges bedeviling the catholic priesthood in Nigeria is the crisis of 
identity. This plays out strongly in the minimal level of zeal displayed in 
the pastoral ministry, witnessing to Christ. It has been a clog in the wheel 
of the new evangelization, which remains almost only in theory and the 
fruit of its practice is elusive. What explains this crisis of identity? Is it 
really because we are product of our society?  Is it the change in outlook 
in the course of history? Could it be because the priesthood has had 
some development? Does the historical development cause essential 
change leading to loss of identity today? This paper sets out to reveal yet 
another nuance to the issue of crisis of identity among priests in Nigeria, 
which is the seed-bed of the problems limiting ‘catholic evangelization’ 
on the Nigerian soil. This is because; the growth of any of the Church’s 
agenda relies to a large extent on her priests, who are the close pastors of 
the people. We shall submit that authentic patrological formation would 
help to ameliorate this menace, if not eradicating it totally. To achieve 
this, the method of exposition is employed. 
 
Keywords: Patrology, Identity, Crisis, Evangelization and Formation. 
 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    137 

Preliminary and Useful Insight 
We are aware that the only antidote to the endemic poison of our society 
that has held people hostage and put them in fetters of ignorance is the 
communication of truth. That is why Jesus Christ says that you shall 
know the truth and the truth shall set you free (Jn 8:12). The reality of 
the level of ignorance and deception concerning the meaning of human 
body resulting to the perversion of the truth of sex and sexuality, the 
intelligent understanding of human origin and summit of human 
existence and unnecessary mistaken mentality of the essentiality of 
human life are arbiter of the aspiration and thirst of men of this age for 
the teaching of the truth. No one can really know the truth unless he is 
taught, no one can be taught unless there is a teacher (Rom. 10:14ff). 
The task of announcing the gospel truth in an evangelizing manner and 
missionary disposition has become emergent than ever before, in the age 
of relativism and the desire for unguided freedom and this is a loud and 
laudable awakening from clerical slumber. 

The congregation for the clergy puts this in a particular 
perspective saying: “We are aware that no missionary activity can be 
realistically undertaken without the enthusiastic support of priests, who 
are the first and most valued collaborators of the Order of Bishops.”1 
And so, “All priests are called to become aware how especially urgent it is 
for them to receive formation at the present time: The new 
evangelization needs new evangelizers, and these are the priests who are 
serious about living their priesthood as a specific path toward holiness.”2 
We can say, relying on the aforementioned documents that the Church 
relies so much on priests for the task of new evangelization. This is 
because they are evangelizers by their own right and virtue of their 
ordination and they are also supposed to be trainers of evangelizers and 
personnel for evangelization because, the word evangelization captures 
concisely the entire missionary activity of the followers of Christ. 

Evangelization has to be understood then as the announcement 
and transmission of the message of Christ that is “the power of God for 
the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). 
The term evangelization has a very rich meaning. In the broad sense, it 
sums up the Church’s entire mission: her whole life consists in 
accomplishing the traditio Evangelii, the proclamation and handing on of 
the Gospel, which is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone 
who believes” (Rom 1:16) and which, in the final essence, is identified 
with Jesus Christ himself (cf. 1 Cor 1:24). Understood in this way, 
evangelization is aimed at all of humanity. In any case, to evangelize does 
not mean simply to teach a doctrine, but to proclaim Jesus Christ by 
one’s words and actions, that is, to make oneself an instrument of his 
presence and action in the world.3 



138 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

Paul VI says: “Evangelization means bringing the good news into 
all the strata of humanity and through its influence transforming 
humanity from within and making it new”4 Ronald says: “evangelization, 
of course, comes from the Greek root ‘to proclaim good news’, and it has 
been particularly used by Christians in every age to speak of the missions 
ad gentes, that is, outreach to all peoples the world to bring them to 
Christ.”5 That is why the Pauline ambition is “to preach the good news 
not where Christ has already been known …but as scripture says: those 
not told about him will see and those who have not heard will 
understand.” This does not only mean going to a geographical location 
that was not accessible for the past missionaries, but entails the 
inculcation, appropriation and internalization of “the mind of Christ” (I 
Cor. 2:16). So, Joseph Okojie writes: “Evangelization aims at penetrating 
and uplifting a given culture by the word of God. It is the acceptance of 
Christ’s call and a deep response to the invitation of the Trinity to the 
work of love and a commitment to continue this work in everyday life.”6 

Evangelization then, is crucial and irreplaceable. It is central to 
the life of the Church and all her activities since antiquity. In this recent 
age7 particularly, the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II reawakens the 
consciousness of evangelization in our own age when he was speaking of 
New Evangelization. “What was new about evangelization?”8 The new 
evangelization is not the announcement of a new message, but a new way 
of the announcement – a new way that is characterized with a new 
disposition of vigorous resilience. Will this be possible without great 
recourse to tradition of the Church? 

Those who are familiar with wine and all that concerns it have 
convincingly argued that the longer it stayed the better. In like terms the 
longer the catholic tradition, having experienced several cultures, people 
and time, the better for evangelization of peoples. St. Paul speaks of the 
credence of the sacred tradition in the context of the liturgical celebration 
of the Eucharist in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter 11: “this is 
the tradition of the Lord that I received… (I Cor. 11:23). The author of 
the letter to the Hebrews urges: “remember your leaders who taught you 
the word of God. Consider the end result of their lives and imitate their 
faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be 
led astray by all kinds of strange teachings.” (Heb. 13:7-9). the 
consideration of the end result of the lives of our past leaders in faith is 
aided by the study of the fathers, which is technically referred to as 
patrology. Patrology like patristics is used to mean the study of the 
Fathers.9 The word patrology was synonymous with patristics, which is 
used to designate the works of ancient Christian writers. In recent times, 
it refers to an organized manual on the patristic literature.10 Here, we 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    139 

want to use the term patrology to refer to the whole life and works of the 
Fathers. 
 
The Gist of the Problem of Priestly Identity Crisis 
We have said earlier that priests are supposed to be at the fore front of the 
Evangelization. More deeply, let us say that young priests are believed to 
be the protagonists of the new evangelization. The employment of the 
youthful hue and vigour is appropriate especially in the areas described as 
young Churches. However, what is experienced in some instances is 
perturbing, concerning the disposition of some priests. To this effect, 
Charles Hammawa laments:  

Some young priests are bereft of a proper sense of 
mission. Their concept of priestly ministry is limited to 
the works assigned and Masses allocated to them. They 
are not interested in the total well-being or the temporal 
good of the Church. The ecclesiology is so deformed 
that their comfort is the primary issue to them.11 
The resultant effect of this is that the announcement of the 

gospel suffers and the people continue to be in want. That is why 
Ambrose Agu retorts: 

“…unfortunately, today, in many places, the Gospel is 
not proclaimed with due force and veracity. It is not 
exposed level of its radical and disturbing implications. 
When this is done, the pastor or minister of the Gospel is 
excoriated as being conservative, unnecessarily strict or 
not in touch with present realities. The tendency for 
many pastors is to shield the people from the disturbing 
and pungent truth of the Gospel message. They tell the 
people what they would want to hear and dilute the force 
of the message handed on to them. Sometimes, a 
message is avoided entirely if it is considered a 
contradiction of the spirit of the time.12 

Corroborating this, Anselm Jimoh calls the prevalent menace a lack of 
pastoral commitment. He also offered the effect of this disposition of 
some young priests. He says: 

The observed lack of pastoral commitment, moral 
probity, inordinate materialistic tendencies, over-
socialization of matters of faith and spirituality, frequent 
display of disobedience to Local Ordinaries/Superiors on 
the part of the priests, and other observable 
misdemeanors which coincidentally are more common 
among the younger generation of priests is disturbing…13 



140 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

 Today, instead of yearning to win the whole of the world for Christ, 
the happenings in our society appears to be overtaking us and exerting 
much influence on us. The spirit of avarice, which may be seen as the sin 
of the old, is now common among the young. This we must say beclouds 
the vision of evangelization and pastoral initiative that is greatly 
missionary. There is no other better time to shun the empty promises of 
the world so that we may purify it. “Yet increasing it appears that more 
and more young priests are taken up with buying cars the day after their 
ordination…”14 and “pastors and priests are getting swallowed en mass 
and the virtue of comportment and decency no longer has a place in our 
life.”15 

It is an understatement to say that some priests do not evangelize, 
they even disturb the mission. John Aniagwu says: “Many priests are 
giving counter witness.”16 Substantiating this, Hassan Kukah writes: 
“given the poverty of our society, it seems that materialism on the part of 
many priests and religious has become the greatest threat to our 
mission.”17 Particularly of young priests, who should “spear head” new 
evangelization because of the gift of youthful strength, it is advised: 
“formators need to take account of what happens in parishes when young 
priests get there… an exalted and glamourous priest will weigh too 
heavily on the mission of the Church. The young priest must not be 
gullible to think that the one who endorses his every whim is the one 
who supports his ministry.”18 

Relying on the impetus created by St. Paul, Oredipe calls for new 
missionary drive when he wrote: “surely then, the memory of St. Paul 
will inspire a new missionary drive in the Church for the benefit of the 
whole of humanity.”19 In like manner, Ambrose Agu speaks of new 
pastoral courage in the following terms: “this concern must be seen in 
his zeal to reach out to the people outside the Church. This concern calls 
for the special attention of the pastors and ministers of the Church.”20 He 
continued: “the duty of a pastor does not end with leading the flock to 
pasture and protecting it. He has also the onerous task of going out in 
search of the straying and the lost sheep and bringing it back to where it 
belongs … and this requires special pastoral courage and zeal, which of 
course is the only way the pastor can foster faith and call to faith in the 
world of today.”21 And so, Aniagwu complains: “there is proclamation by 
written word…But many do not do it. They simply do not write. They 
are either too timid to do so or they do not have the time.”22 

It is true that the general theme of this conference focuses on the 
formation to the priesthood, let us speak commonly at this moment so 
that other young persons may have the issue to ponder on, since the task 
of evangelization per se, is of all who are “baptized and sent.”23 Dwight 
Longenecker underscored the fact that our disposition towards 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    141 

evangelization is too minimal. He has this to say: “We Catholics skate 
around this one muttering catchphrases like “The New Evangelization’ 
and we trumpet the few evangelization enterprises that are going on, and 
we self-righteously quote St. Francis (who never actually said it), ‘Preach 
the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.’”24 He did not fail to 
enumerate some of the reasons for such disposition generally by 
catholics which include; cultural Catholicism, over-sacramentalism, 
ignorance, social gospel and professional catholicism.25  
 Catholics tend to be shy about evangelizing. And, it shows. The 
decline in Sunday Mass attendance is best described as a plummet. 
Seventy-five percent of Catholics went to Mass weekly in 1955 Gallup 
reported. That dropped to about 39 percent according to data collected 
between 2014 and 2017; which was down from 45 percent between 2005 
and 2008. It’s a disturbing trend and one that Msgr. Thomas Richter, 
pastor of Queen of Peace Church in Dickinson, wants Catholics to do 
something about. He addressed this issue as the featured speaker last 
month at the University of Mary’s St. Hildegard Lecture series, 
explaining that evangelizing is primarily the job of laity.26 

In 2013, the Barna Group did a large survey on the importance 
of Christians who share their faith. The group which had the lowest 
number of people who actively shared their faith was Catholics. Here is 
the truly sad part. They only polled those they designated as ‘people who 
said they have made ‘a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still 
important in their life today’ and who also indicated they believe that 
when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their 
sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.’ This means they 
polled the best and most engaged Catholics who have had an encounter 
with Jesus. They found that only 1 out of every 3 Catholics agreed with 
the statement, ‘I, personally, have a responsibility to tell other people 
about my religious beliefs.’ Additionally, only 1/3 of Catholics who have 
encountered Jesus and chosen to follow him agreed with the statement, 
‘During the past 12 months, I explained my religious beliefs to someone 
who had different beliefs, in the hope that they might accept Jesus Christ 
as their Savior.’ This means we Catholics in the USA are TERRIBLE at 
evangelization - the core mission of the Church! We aren't Christians to 
merely get ourselves to heaven. We are Christians to get others.’27 

Notwithstanding, the urgency of evangelization today cannot be 
overemphasized. The perversion in the world today has made those who 
learn not to understand and possession has constantly led to 
impoverishment. The announcement and the encounter with the truth 
are evermore demanded. Thus, the urgency of evangelization today is as 
prevalent as at the time of Jesus, when they were advised not to even 
salute anyone on the road. Cardinal Dulles made this observation 



142 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

concerning the disposition for evangelization even after the Second 
Vatican Council: “The commentaries on Vatican II published in the first 
decade after the council generally overlooked the centrality of 
evangelization. They focused attention on collegiality, ecumenism, 
dialogue and social teaching.”28 But now is the acceptable time to wake 
up with great enthusiasm for the work of new evangelization. 
 
Resolving Deficits in Priestly Identity through Authentic 
Patrology. 
We speak of the apostolic foundation in the Church not just from mere 
human calculations or wisdom, but because the Lord built the Church 
on the apostle that He named Peter, the rock. Therefore, the faith of the 
Church is foundational and this permeates her activities. The proper 
understanding of the missionary mandate and evangelization requires 
that we get in touch concretely with those to whom the message is 
handed over on behalf of the generation that will come to believe Christ 
through their teaching (Jn 17:20). Chinua Achebe wrote: “a man who 
does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he 
dried his body.”29 Here, we have to present the lasting values of patrology 
through which we encounter the Fathers and even learn from them in 
order to prepare candidates in formation for the all important task ahead. 
The Congregation for Catholic Education instructs: 
Observation of the present condition of the Church reveals how the 
needs of the church’s pastoral mission and the emergence of new 
currents of spirituality call for healthy nourishment and reliable source of 
inspiration. So many efforts seem sterile, but there is a fresh breath of 
true wisdom and Christian authenticity that flowed from the patristic 
works. It is a breath which contributed recently to the resolution of 
numerous liturgical, ecumenical, missionary and pastoral phenomena, 
which were noted by the Second Vatican Council and which are 
considered a source of encouragement and light by the church today.30  

In a letter to Fulton Sheen, a priest wrote: “I am convinced that 
many of our people are searching for many of the old devotions which 
many of the parishes have done away with, and this is very often because 
we priests cannot be bordered putting ourselves out.”31 These old 
devotions motivate the faithful for the missionary activities. Patrology 
helps us to encounter the depth of these devotions, some of which are 
handed down by the apostles themselves and are inspired by the Lord 
and His Spirit. A good example of such devotions is the elongated 
Lenten spiritual practices of the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults 
and other prayerful pedagogy that accompany the rites. This is also not 
common again in our Churches. Another is the adoration of the Lord in 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    143 

the Blessed Sacrament, which some parishes have also done away with. 
But these and many others enliven our soul. 

The inspiration they (the Fathers) offer in terms reflection, and 
contribution to the explanation of the mysteries communicated through 
the Scriptures is lasting. To this effect, Pope Benedict XVI in his Verbum 
Domini advised that pastoral or missionary activities be inspired by the 
Scriptures.32 The understanding of the Sacred Scriptures, just as the 
familiarity with it, is in no little measure germane to the work of 
evangelization. As a matter of fact, the Scripture is the code for every 
missionary activity. In it we find the example of the Lord Himself being 
on mission to evangelize and also learn his principles and strategies 
which can never fail us.  But without the proper understanding, we can 
do little or nothing humanly speaking. Thus authentic patrology helps us 
to have better understanding of the Scriptures, when we encounter the 
insight offered by the apostles and the Fathers, such that they continue to 
challenge and spur us for missionary actions. “The living Tradition is 
essential for enabling the Church to grow through time in the 
understanding of the truth revealed in the scriptures…”33 The second 
Vatican Council Fathers offer immense insight:  

Hence there exists a close connection and 
communication between sacred tradition and Sacred 
Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same 
divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and 
tend toward the same end. For Sacred Scripture is the 
word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing 
under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred 
tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the 
Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on 
to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the 
light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it 
preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make 
it more widely known. Consequently it is not from 
Sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her 
certainty about everything which has been revealed. 
Therefore both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are 
to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of 
loyalty and reverence.34 

As important as the Scriptures may be, our knowledge is equally 
nourished by the study of the Holy Fathers and other Doctors and 
monuments or Tradition. In order, moreover, that they may give apt 
answers to questions posed by men of this age, it is necessary for priests 
to know well the doctrines of the magisterium and the councils and 



144 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

documents of the Roman pontiffs and to consult the best of prudent 
writers of theological science.35 

Evangelization is intrinsically traditional since, evangelization 
entails the handing over of the faith. To hand over is traceable to the 
Latin word tradere, meaning to handover. It is therefore, historical and 
traditional.   “The new head of a worldwide federation of traditional 
Catholics has stressed that if the New Evangelization is to be effective, 
it’s vital that the faithful know and understand the Church’s roots, 
history and tradition.”36  “In our Christian mind, the Fathers are always 
linked to tradition having been both its protagonist and witnesses. They 
are closer to its source in their purity… the Fathers are therefore 
witnesses and guarantor of authentic catholic tradition.”37 Just like we 
have written earlier, no Christian evangelizer is going to announce a new 
gospel as St. Paul wrote to the people of Corinth (I Cor. 3:11), the 
primordial message of Christ but with a new style, dedication and 
vigour. Patrology then helps us to understand that primordial message of 
Christ as we study the works and life of those who were with them from 
John’s baptism till when the Lord was taken up (Acts 1:22).  
Therefore, it is clear that (for) seminarians regular familiarity with the 
work of the Fathers can only strengthen their spiritual and liturgical life 
by shedding particular light on their vocation by rooting it in the long 
tradition of the Church bringing it to a direct communication with its 
origins in their wealth and purity.38 

Another important reason for patrology is that the Fathers have 
bequeathed to us the authentic method of grafting the faith into cultures. 
They grappled with the heresies of the pagan cultures and were able to 
impress the faith in the heart of these cultures, although not without 
difficulty. They were successful. If inculturation that we clamour for 
today must be successful, we have to consider the Fathers who have done 
it in the past. The Fathers have helped to answer the question of how the 
faith can be explained in the “wisdom and philosophy of people.”39 

There is yet another pivotal point to be mentioned concerning 
the rich patrimony that patrology introduces us to that we may be helped 
in our mission of evangelization. This is the arena of Catholic Christian 
spirituality. “… Given this lively spiritual sense, the image of themselves 
that the Fathers offer us is that of men who are not only learning but 
above all are experiencing divine things. Most of the time, they are 
specialists in supernatural life who communicate what they have seen 
and experienced in their contemplation of divine things, what they have 
known through the path of love.”40 Any evangelizer who does not learn 
from the spirituality of the Fathers may not be faithful and successful. 
The Fathers are to be our spiritual models after the mind of Christ. St. 
Paul says; imitate me as I imitate Christ. Due to the intellectual poverty 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    145 

that some young persons have concerning the lives and works of the 
Fathers, they have come to choose other spiritual models of this age. It 
shows in the liturgical assembly that they lead. Yet, the Fathers have 
more to offer in spirituality than the Pentecostal pastors of this age. 
Authentic patrology will help in resolving this lacuna. 
 
Conclusion  
This paper calls for an urgent appreciation of spiritual mentorship, father 
figure and role modeling. This paper is also a clarion call for renewal 
towards enthusiastic evangelization. As Paul VI says: “to make the 
Church of the twentieth century ever better fitted for proclaiming the 
Gospel to the people of the twentieth century”41, this paper aims at 
making the Church in the twenty-first century better active for the 
proclamation of the gospel to the people of the twenty-first century. “As 
in early times, today too Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice 
themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St. Paul.”42 To actualize 
this desire of Christ we need to be constantly be inspired by the Fathers, 
who were the first recipient of the message of Christ and served it in its 
purity. Thus, in the training of a candidate to the priesthood, authentic 
patrology should be an epicenter of their formation. This will continue 
to reinvigorate these young evangelizers, buoyed their spirituality and 
boost their evangelical morale through pastoral outreach. We wish to 
submit therefore, that with authentic patrology, the misplacement of 
priority that has led to a kind of identity crisis, being a clog in the wheel 
of new evangelization, will be reduced to bearable decimal, if not totally 
eradicated. 
 
 
Endnotes  
                                                      
1Congregation for the Clergy, the Priest and the Third Christian Millennium: Teacher 

of the Word, Minister of the Sacraments and Leader of the Community, 1999. 
2John Paul II, Pastores Dabor Vobis no. 82. 
3Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of 

Evangelization, no. 2, 2007. 
4Quoted in Frank P. DeSiano, Kenneth Boyack, Creating the Evangelizing Parish, 

New York: Paulist Press, 1993, p. 23. 
5Ronald D. Witherup, Saint Paul and the New Evangelization, p. 10. 
6Joseph Okojie, The Eucharistic Celebration as an act of Evangelization, Benin City: 

Floreat Systems, 2014, p. 25. 
7Post Second Vatican Council. 
8Ronald D. Witherup, Saint Paul and the New Evangelization, Minnesota: Liturgical 

Press, 2013, p. 2. 



146 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

                                                                                                                         
9Joseph A. Komonchak, Mary Collins (eds.) et. al., the New Dictionary of Theology, 

Bangalore: Theological Publications in England, 2011, p. 387. 
10Michael Glazier and Monika Hellwig (eds.), The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia, 

Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004, pp. 625-626. 
11Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating Seminarians 

for Healthy Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly Life in 

Nigeria”; Proceedings of the National Seminaries Committee Workshops, Makurdi 

2002, Ekpoma 2003 and Ibadan 2005, no 2, Benin City, Floreat Systems, 2007, p. 

183 
12Ambrose C. Agu, Responding to the Divine Call, Bombay: St. Pauls, 2009, pp. 158-

159. 
13Ibid  
14B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in Priestly Life” in Charles M. 

Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating Seminarians for Healthy 

Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly Life in Nigeria”; p. 186. 
15Ibi S. Ajayi, “Materialism and the Nigerian Society” in Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), 

New Techniques in formation, Educating Seminarians for Healthy Sexuality and 

Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly Life in Nigeria”; P. 155. 
16John Aniagwu, quoted by B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in 

Priestly Life” in Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating 

Seminarians for Healthy Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly 

Life in Nigeria”; p. 186. 
17Hassan Kukah quoted by B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in 

Priestly Life” in Charles M. Hammawa (ed.), New Techniques in formation, Educating 

Seminarians for Healthy Sexuality and Celibate Living and Materialism and Priestly 

Life in Nigeria”; p. 187. 
18B. Itsueli, “Materialism and Personal witnessing in Priestly Life” pp. 188-189.  
19Paul K. Oredipe, St. Paul and Priestly Formation: Impetus for Today, Benin City: 

Floreat Systems, 2018, p. 13. 
20Ambrose C. Agu, Responding to the Divine Call, Bombay: St. Pauls, 2009, p. 157. 
21Ibid  
22John Aniagwu, Called to Act In Persona Christi: Reflections on Priestly Life and 

Ministry, Ibadan: Daily Graphics, 2014, p. 46. 
23Pope Francis, Message on the Mission Sunday, 2019. 
24Dwight Longenecker, “10 Reasons Why Catholics Don’t Evangelize” in Natioal 

Catholic Register, https://www.ncregister.com/blog/longenecker/10-reasons-why-

catholics-dont-evangelize (accessed 2/3/2020 10:40 pm) 
25Ibid 
26Patti Armstrong, “Evangelizing is the Job of the Laity”, 2019 

https://bismarckdiocese.com/news/evangelizing-is-the-job-of-the-laity (accessed 

3/3/2020 12:08 am) 
27Marcel LeJeune, “5 Reasons Why Catholics Don't Evangelize” in Catholic 

Missionary Disciples, https://catholicmissionarydisciples.com/news/reasons-why-

catholics-dont-evangelize (accessed 2/3/2020 11:16 pm) 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    147 

                                                                                                                         
28Avery Cardinal Dulles, Evangelization for the Third Millennium, New York: Paulist 

Press, 2009, p. 14. 
29Chinua Achebe, There was a Country, USA: Penguin Books, 2012, P. 1. 
30Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction on the Study of the Fathers in the 

Formation of Priests, pdf (accessed 27/2/2020 7:50 pm) 
31Fulton J. Sheen, Treasure in Clay, Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 1980, p. 

204. 
32Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, p. 88.  
33Pope Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, p. 25. 
34Dei Verbum no. 9 
35Presbyterorum ordinis no. 19. 
36Edward Pentin, “New Evangelization Needs Tradition and History to be Effective” 

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/new-evangelization-needs-

tradition-history (accessed 3/2/2020 5:14pm). 
37Congregation for Catholic Education, “Instruction on the Study of the Fathers in 

the Formation of Priests, pdf (accessed 27/2/2020 7:50 pm) 
38Ibid  
39Ad Gentes no. 22. 
40Congregation for Catholic Education, “Instruction on the Study of the Fathers in 

the Formation of Priests, pdf (accessed 27/2/2020 7:50 pm) 
41Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, no. 2. 
42Benedict XVI’s Homily at Vespers for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, at the 

Basilica of St. Paul the walls on June 28, 2007. 


